


Aurulent

by Ceares



Category: Die Hard (Movies), Live Free or Die Hard (2007)
Genre: Community: picfor1000, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-27
Updated: 2013-02-27
Packaged: 2017-12-03 20:13:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/702164
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ceares/pseuds/Ceares
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Holly knows it’s not really fair to think of him as a kid. He’s older than she was when she married John, when she had Lucy and Jack. There’s something about him though, that makes her feel like she was <i>never</i> that young.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Aurulent

**Author's Note:**

> Picfor1000 fic. This was the picture http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidyuweb/8135193059/lightbox/
> 
> This was 1000 words in Googledocs, I swear.

Holly drives up the night before, window down and breeze blowing through her hair, singing at the top of her lungs to the new mix Jack sent her. It’s been awhile since she took any time off and she refuses to feel guilty for taking a long weekend to deal with ‘family’ stuff, even if she’s not sure what that stuff is, right now. Dan is going to meet her Friday evening. He still thinks it’s strange that she’s friends? Something -- with her ex-husband’s boyfriend.

 

When Matt calls, Holly’s first thought is that someone is hurt or that something has blown up. It’s not so much that he calls -- they talk occasionally -- it’s the herky jerk tone of his voice when he says her name. He’s quick to reassure her though and she knows that he knows what it’s like to dread the ring of the phone. The first time they met, right after the Firesale, she thanked him for saving her daughter and he’d looked at her and shrugged, pale and bruised, propped in the hospital bed, and said “what else was I going to do?” And she’d thought, oh John.

She loves John. She always will. They share two children and someday they’ll share grandchildren. Matt is a part of all that and there’s been enough hurt and anger, bitterness and regret between her and John. She never wanted any other relationships to be another brick in the wall between them, but Matt makes it easy, to not be resentful, to not feel threatened, to let him in. 

 

She sits on the balcony with her coffee watching the sun rise, golden and intense over the hills. Combined with the fog rolling out over the bay, the city takes on a creepy, fairy tale glow. Holly lets herself think about anything except what Matt wants. She’ll find out soon enough and she learned a long time ago that worrying about what _might_ be is a good way to lose your mind.

They meet for brunch, sit on the patio and sip Mimosas while they wait for their meal. They’re friends on Facebook, which is hilarious since Lucy and Jack are kind of mortified by them. John would have to know what it was to care. They chat and text but it’s been almost two years since the last time she saw him, at Lucy’s graduation. He looks the same, smart, eager, sweet. Young.

Matt looks down, fiddles with his knife, shreds the edge of his napkin. She’s patient, sips her drink and stares out over the railing, enjoying the warm light of the sun, the crispness of the breeze.

Holly knows it’s not really fair to think of him as a kid. He’s older than she was when she married John, when she had Lucy and Jack. There’s something about him though, that makes her feel like she was _never_ that young. She wonders, every time she sees him, _how_ he and John work. Opposites might attract, but most of the time they don’t function, not really, not for the long haul. Not that all the things she and John had in common kept them together, but John is the least patient person she knows. Compromise used to be a four-letter word to him.

He pops his head up, meets her eyes finally. “McClane is a little disturbed that we get along. I told him it’s cause we’re awesome like that. I mean we love all the same people. Lucy is my best friend and Jack,” He grimaces. “Well, Jack tolerates me.”

Holly laughs, shaking her head. “Jack is his father’s son. Stubborn. He always figured some day John and I would get back together. In his mind, the Fire Sale was the perfect opportunity.”

“I guess I kind of messed that up, huh?”

“As compelling as a wounded John McClane is, there was nothing for you to mess up. That ship sailed, hit an iceberg and sunk to the bottom of the ocean.”

It’s Matt’s turn to laugh, eyes bright, face lighting up, joyful and Holly is suddenly, fiercely glad that John has him in his life.

“I just wanted you to...I’m not asking permission or anything cause that would be fucked up but,” Matt takes a deep breath. “I’m going to pop the question.” He shrugs. “It’s legal now in New York, so.”

Holly’s genuinely surprised and after a long moment, genuinely happy. Not that there’s no regret, there is, but it’s a soft and faded thing. She reaches across the table and grabs his hand, squeezing. “Congratulations!”

“Not yet. He might say no.”

He might, but Matt is the wave that beats constantly against John’s rock. He won’t the second or third time. “He’s stubborn, not stupid. Just tell him if he likes it, he better put a ring on it.”

That sets them both off giggling again, and then Matt is telling her about the job he’s up there to do, and how photos don’t do justice to how thick the neck on Lucy’s new boyfriend is.

“Seriously, it’s like a tree trunk. He looks like a linebacker and is basically the most boring medieval history geek.”

 

They arrange breakfast in the morning so he can meet Dan before he goes back. Matt gets to give the first official seal of approval for the McClane clan.

“I’ve told you that’s weird, right? I have no desire to go anywhere near my ex’s new husband. We politely pretend the other doesn’t exist.”

Dan is stretched out on the bed, watching her dress for dinner.

“You can’t help but bond when you get taken hostage together.”

He frowns, hands sliding over the smooth skin of her back when she bends for him to get her zipper. “Why on earth would we be taken hostage together?”

Holly turns around and wraps her arms around his neck, kissing him lightly. “Trust me, it happens more often than you think.”


End file.
